Japanese Creeper

This species is widely cultivated as an attractive ornamental climber in China and in many other countries. Its roots have been used to cure lumps and ecchymosis.

A large climbing shrub up to 20 m tall strongly branched; tendrils much branched, broadening at apex into adhesive disc. Leaves simple, 5-6 cm long, undivided or 3-lobed, orbicular, ovate or suborbicular and deltoid, crenate-serrate, acuminate - cuspidate, or mucronate, cordate at base, turns red in autumn. Inflorescence much shorter than petiole, disc adnate to the base of ovary, 5-lobed, margin slightly swollen, berry bluish black, 1-2 seeded. Seeds pruinose, 6-8 mm long.

Branchlets terete, nearly glabrous or sparsely pilose; tendrils 5-9-branched, young apex expanded and ball-shaped. Leaves simple, usually 3-lobed on short branches, or small and unlobed on long branches; petiole 4-12 cm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent; blade obovoid, 4.5-17 × 4-16 cm, abaxially glabrous or midvein abaxially sparsely pubescent, basal veins 5, lateral veins 3-5 pairs on each side, veinlets slightly raised abaxially, inconspicuous adaxially, base cordate, margin with rough teeth on each side, apex acute. Polychasium 2.5-12.5 cm; rachis inconspicuous; peduncles 1-3.5 cm, nearly glabrous. Pedicel 2-3 mm, glabrous. Buds obovoid-elliptic, 2-3 mm, apex rounded. Calyx entire or undulate. Petals elliptic, 1.8-2.7 mm, glabrous. Filaments 1.5-2.4 mm; anthers ovoid-elliptic, 0.7-1.4 mm. Disk inconspicuous. Ovary oval; style conspicuous, base thick; stigma not enlarged. Berry 1-1.5 cm in diam., 1-3-seeded. Seeds obovoid, base with a sharp, short rostrum, apex rounded. Fl. May-Aug, fr. Sep-Oct. 2n = 40.

Distribution: Japan, China, In Pakistan cultivated in Abbottabad.

Anhui, Fujian, Hebei, Henan, Jiangsu, Jilin, Liaoning, Shandong, Taiwan, Zhejiang [Japan, Korea].

Fl. Per.: June - July.

Shrublands, cliffs, rocky hillsides; 100-1200 m.

Ampelopsis tricuspidata Siebold & Zuccarini, Abh. Math.-Phys. Cl. Königl. Bayer. Akad. Wiss. 4(2): 196. 1845; Cissus thunbergii Siebold & Zuccarini; Parthenocissus thunbergii (Siebold & Zuccarini) Nakai; Psedera thunbergii (Siebold & Zuccarini) Nakai; P. tricuspidata (Siebold & Zuccarini) Rehder; Quinaria tricuspidata (Siebold & Zuccarini) Koehne; Vitis inconstans Miquel; V. taquetii H. Léveillé; V. thunbergii (Siebold & Zuccarini) Druce (1917), not Siebold & Zuccarini (1845).